Elsbeth.
The evening had been so full of life, so full of hope, despite it being part of a trap to lure Julia into our clutches --despite her turning it around to lure us into hers. We'd announced the new Gamma's, we'd received the Moon Goddess's blessing -- I'd felt it reverberate through my bones. Though based on a farce, the event had been true. It had touched me, it had touched all of us.
The festival had given me a brief respite from the weight of the crown, from the looming threat of Julia and the war we were barely holding back. The laughter of the children still echoed in my mind, and I could almost still feel the joy from the crowd, the warmth of Fen's hand resting gently against my lower back, the tenderness of our shared gaze.
But now, as I stumbled through the darkened hallway of the underground tunnel, everything shifted.
